A Macomb County jury deliberated only two hours to convict Renee King of felony murder, child abuse and sexual assault for the beating death of her 2-year-old stepdaughter in her New Haven home.

King, 30, faces life in prison without parole at her April 10 sentencing for the November 2010 death of Lily Wolfenbarger-Furneaux, on Monday afternoon following a nearly two week trial in front of Judge Diane Druzinski in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

The jury foreman's first "guilty" produced a collective gasp in the courtroom among about two dozen supporters of Lily and her family, and was followed by tears and hugs.

King covered her face with her hands and appeared visibly shaken. Her mother, sitting behind, stared downward.

Advertisement

Sharon Oslund of Lapeer and Rick Furneaux of Leonard, Lily's great aunt and uncle, choked back tears as they talked moments after the verdict. They were especially happy for Lily's mother, Lauren Furneaux, 26, of Lapeer.

"We're thankful, very thankful," Oslund said. "This was a long time coming but worth it. If it hadn't gone this way, I don't know if the family would've been able to handle it."

Lauren Furneaux said she feared the worst, but was naturally pleased.

"I'm ecstatic," she said. "It still doesn't bring Lily back, but the fact that she won't be able to hurt any more children and she will think about what she did to my daughter the rest of her life, that's all I could ask for.

"It's overwhelming. I was so scared with what happened with Casey Anthony's case going to happen to us. Once they said that first charge I knew it was okay."

Anthony last July was acquitted of murder by a Florida jury in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Lily died Nov. 20, 2010, after she was alone with King for about three hours in a mobile home in Meadowcreek Mobile Home Community near 27 Mile and Gratiot. Lily suffered about five major blows to her head and another 15 or more other bruises to the head area. She also suffered a vaginal tear caused by a penetrating object.

King told police she accidentally dropped Lily in two falls in her bathroom due to a bad back; she complained of falling down in the weeks prior to the incident and earlier that year was diagnosed with a bulging disc. She could not explain the vaginal injury.

But assistant Macomb prosecutor Therese Tobin said King, affected by prescription drugs, slammed Lily's head against the floor in a rage over Lily defecating in her underwear and having temper tantrums.

"That's what set off this time bomb off," Tobin told jurors in closing arguments Monday morning. "You don't get upset with a child for accidents."

Defense attorney Jason Malkiewicz said the verdict "was a definite shock to all of us" and questioned the jury mulling a murder case for only 120 minutes.

The jury did not ask to view any exhibits and asked one question -- the difference between first-degree felony murder and "second-degree felony murder," although there is not a second-degree version of felony murder. The jury could have returned a simple second-degree murder verdict in which King could have received a term of any number of years up to life, with a parole date.

"I think due to the fact that trial took place over two weeks and with the amount of evidence and factual issues, ... with over 15 witnesses ... I can't believe with someone's life in their hands they wouldn't go through all the issues thoroughly," Malkiewicz said. "I've had quick verdicts before but not with a two-week trial. Maybe they wanted to get out after two weeks, maybe they were tired."

Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said the quick verdict in a first-degree murder case is "almost unheard of" but shows the strength of the evidence and "façade" of King's claim.

"I hope it sends a message that we're going to see through people's BS when it comes to harming children," Smith said.

Jurors who talked to Malkiewicz didn't explain their quick decision, but shed light on some of their reasoning, he said.

"A lot of them had problems with the fact that she was falling all the time and took her into the shower," he said. "A lot of them said that's not something a mother would do."

Jurors relied heavily on county Medical Examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz, who ruled the death a homicide, and was backed by child abuse expert Dr. Marcus DeGraw.

Malkiewicz, during his closing, attacked Spitz for his error in the David Widlak case. Widlak, president of Community Central Bank of Mount Clemens, in September 2010 went missing and was found dead a month later along Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township. Spitz in his autopsy missed a gunshot wound to the back of Widlak about two months before Lily's autopsy.

"Couldn't he be wrong, especially this doctor when he didn't find a gunshot wound in the back of a man's head?" he said. "I don't think he wanted to be wrong twice, in a month."

Tobin responded: "Dr. Spitz admitted he's been wrong before. He said, 'Yes, I've been wrong before, but in this case with these facts, these injuries, there is not an accidental mechanism.' "

Tobin accused King of cleaning up the scene, which she said explained why police found only a minimal amount of Lily's blood in the home even though experts believe she would have bled significantly.

Tobin noted that King was taking prescription drugs for pain, anxiety and depression at the time.

Tobin also railed about the inconsistency of King's statements, as she changed details of her version of events during her remarks to officers at the scene and to New Haven Detective Sgt. Renee Yax over three days.

Malkiewicz contended King remained consistent about her main story and blamed minor inconsistencies on the speed of the incident and King's hysterics.

Her daughter's death has inspired Furneaux to create a website and Facebook page, Justice for Lily, and stage fundraisers for anti-child abuse organizations.

Furneaux and her parents, Frederick "Chico" and Lynette, shortly after the verdict donned T-shirts that read "Justice for Lily" on the front and "Fight to Infinity and Beyond," displaying pictures of Lily.

Furneaux said despite the verdict she harbors some guilt for not protecting Lily better. She had suspected Lily was being abused as evidenced by bruises and a cigarette burn on her. She was worried the abuser was King, who was married to Lily's father, Jeff Wolfenbarger, and took care of Lily most of the time while under Wolfenbarger's parenting time. Furneaux and Wolfenbarger were never married.

She said she was advised by her attorney not to bring the allegations to the custody judge because the complaints may incite the judge to take away all of her parenting time. She complained about the judge, too.

"I wish I had never trusted her (her attorney)," she said choking back tears. "I regret that every day, listening to the person I was supposed to trust."

Regarding the verdict, she said, "This is the first time that we actually have seen justice and the court system work. This is great. This is amazing."

Wolfenbarger did not attend the sentencing. He was banned from the courtroom Feb. 17 after knocking over a woman while trying to scuffle with Lily's uncle, Michael Furneaux, in the courthouse hallway.

Michael Furneaux also was banned but appeared at the courthouse nearly an hour after the verdict to hug his sister.